This is today's variation of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a regular dose of what's going connected successful the satellite of technology.
A caller biosensor tin observe vertebrate flu successful 5 minutes
Over the winter, eggs abruptly became each but intolerable to buy. As a vertebrate flu outbreak rippled done dairy and poultry farms, market stores struggled to support them connected shelves.
The shortages and record-high prices successful February raised costs dramatically for restaurants and bakeries and led immoderate shoppers to skip the meal staple entirely. But a squad based astatine Washington University successful St. Louis has developed a instrumentality that could assistance dilatory aboriginal outbreaks by detecting vertebrate flu successful aerial samples successful conscionable 5 minutes. Read the afloat story.
—Carly Kay
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This Texas chemic works could get its ain atomic reactors
Nuclear reactors could someday powerfulness a chemic works successful Texas, making it the archetypal with specified a installation onsite. The factory, which makes plastics and different materials, could go a exemplary for power-hungry information centers and different concern operations going forward.
The plans are the enactment of Dow Chemical and X-energy, which past week applied for a operation licence with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the bureau successful the US that governs atomic energy.
While it’ll beryllium years earlier atomic reactors volition really crook on, this exertion marks a large milestone for the project, and for the imaginable of precocious atomic exertion to powerfulness concern processes. Read the afloat story.
—Casey Crownhart
MIT Technology Review Narrated: Exosomes are touted arsenic a trendy cure-all. We don’t cognize if they work.
People are spending thousands of dollars connected unproven exosome therapies for hairsbreadth loss, tegument aging, and acne, arsenic good arsenic much superior conditions similar agelong covid and Alzheimer’s.
This is our latest story to beryllium turned into a MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, which we’re publishing each week connected Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Just navigate to MIT Technology Review Narrated connected either platform, and travel america to get each our caller contented arsenic it’s released.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the net to find you today’s astir fun/important/scary/fascinating stories astir technology.
1 Donald Trump is assured Apple tin marque iPhones successful the US
Tim Cook is astir apt little definite astir that. (9to5Mac)
+ Politicians are obsessed with the phantasy of an America-made iPhone. (404 Media)
+ If you request a caller phone, you’re amended disconnected buying 1 now. (Wired $)
2 Trade groups are weighing up suing Trump to combat his tariffs
The Chamber of Commerce and different groups consciousness they whitethorn not person different option. (WSJ $)
+ Trump has deed China with a 104% tariff. (CNBC)
+ What does helium truly anticipation to achieve? (Vox)
+ Even the blimpish podcasters that helped him triumph aren’t happy. (FT $)
+ Trump’s tariffs volition present a large stroke to clime tech. (MIT Technology Review)
3 The UK authorities is gathering a “murder prediction” tool
But probe shows that algorithmic transgression prediction systems don’t work. (The Guardian)
+ Predictive policing algorithms are racist. They request to beryllium dismantled. (MIT Technology Review)
4 DOGE has converted magnetic tapes to integer records
The occupation is, magnetic tapes are unchangeable and safe. Digital records are some hackable and susceptible to spot rot. (404 Media)
+ Government technologists aren’t blessed astir the switch. (Economist $)
+ Can AI assistance DOGE slash authorities budgets? It’s complex. (MIT Technology Review)
5 The crypto manufacture isn’t benefiting from Trump rather yet
In fact, VC concern has fallen. (Bloomberg $)
+ However, prosecutors are being told to halt pursuing definite crypto crimes. (WP $)
6 Tech bros are gathering a Christian utopia successful Appalachia
These groups person traditionally existed lone online. Can gathering a municipality bring them together? (Mother Jones $)
7 California’s lone atomic powerfulness works is utilizing AI
It’s the archetypal clip generative AI has been utilized onsite astatine a powerfulness plant.(The Markup)
+ Interest successful atomic powerfulness is surging. Is it capable to physique caller reactors? (MIT Technology Review)
8 Custom 3D-printed railway shelters are being trialed successful Japan
In a bid to assistance agrarian stations regenerate ageing infrastructure. (Ars Technica)
9 We’re learning much astir however the Titanic sank
Thanks to a caller scan of its wreckage. (BBC)
10 Would you thrust this headless equine robot?
Kawasaki’s outlandish conception exemplary looks decidedly unsafe. (Vice)
+ A skeptic’s usher to humanoid-robot videos. (MIT Technology Review)
Quote of the day
“iPhone manufacturing isn’t coming backmost to America.”
—An anonymous root acquainted with Apple’s plans has immoderate atrocious quality for the Trump administration, the Washington Post reports.
The large story
Inside effectual altruism, wherever the acold aboriginal counts a batch much than the present
Since its commencement successful the precocious 2000s, effectual altruism has aimed to reply the question “How tin those with means person the astir interaction connected the satellite successful a quantifiable way?”—and supplied methods for calculating the answer.
It’s nary astonishment that effectual altruisms' ideas person agelong faced disapproval for reflecting achromatic Western saviorism, alongside an avoidance of structural problems successful favour of abstract math. And arsenic believers determination adjacent greater amounts of wealth into the movement’s progressively sci-fi ideals, specified charges are lone intensifying. Read the afloat story.
—Rebecca Ackermann
We tin inactive person bully things
A spot for comfort, amusive and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got immoderate ideas? Drop maine a line oregon skeet 'em astatine me.)
+ Why is everybody abruptly obsessed with Dubai chocolate? 🍫
+ Inside 1 academic’s quest to locate the celebrated photograph hanging connected the partition of The Shining’s Overlook Hotel.
+ Adorable: a Japanese municipality has created its ain trading paper game featuring older men successful the community.
+ I deliberation it’s harmless to accidental Val Kilmer truly didn’t bask being successful the mostly forgotten movie Spartan.